The three girls who were fatally stabbed have been identified as Alice Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, the youngest at just 6. Five of the eight other children injured remain in hospital in critical condition alongside the two adults that were stabbed while attempting to save the children.

The Merseyside Police have charged a 17-year-old who currently faces three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. He is due to appear in court later on Thursday.

Mere hours after the stabbing occurred there was a series of violent outbursts and protests around the town in response to the incident. Far right protestors clashed with the police as a string of misinformation led them to believe that the stabbing was carried out by an immigrant. Five men were arrested in connection to the riots.

Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer condemned the “thuggery” of the riots, stating that the protesters “hijacked” the community’s grief.

The mother of Alice Aguiar posted a heartbreaking tribute to her daughter on Facebook, according to the Liverpool echo. The tribute read: “Princess Alice. In this moment of great pain my soul hurts, my body hurts, my mind hurts. I have a lump in my throat. You were just an innocent child, a happy smiley girl with a bright life ahead of you which a despicable human being took away from you, without pity, for no reason.

Since Monday when the attack occurred, Taylor Swift fans have raised over £275,000 through their online fundraiser in an attempt to provide support to the bereaved families.

Taylor Swift has responded to the incident through a story shared in her Instagram:

Numerous figureheads have responded to the stabbing, including King Charles who made a statement shared on the Royal Family official Social media: “My wife and I have been profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in Southport.” In addition, both the Prince and Princess of Wales shared their condolences on X following the incident.

Gracing streaming platforms last week, Swift dropped folklore on the 24th July 2020. The indie-infused album, which features collaborations with the likes of Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of The Nationals, diverts from Swift’s usual stylings, which are deep-rooted in pop. Placing a sharp focus on instrumentation and folky guitars instead of preened, poppy production, the soothing folklore is a breath of fresh air from industry giant Taylor Swift. 

In its first week, folklore sold 37,060 copies in the UK. Following this mighty debut, folklore reaped 12,152 album downloads and 24,050 streams also within the first week, catapulting the record to the top of the UK charts. Folklore has now sold 2 million copies worldwide, as well as smashing Spotify records for first-day album streams by a female artist. 

Consisting of sixteen songs, folklore begins with the 1. A wistful look back at what might have been, the song reflects Swift’s past relationships, and the scars they may have left behind. Swift sings heartfelt lyrics like “Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool/And if my wishes came true, It would’ve been you.”. 

Then you have cardigan, a vulnerable introspection that comes from learned wisdom. Swift’s angelic voice sings “A friend to all is a friend to none/Chase two girls, lose the one/When you are young, they assume you know nothing.” For track Exile Swift unites with the legendary Bon Iver, an emotive ballad that sings of love lost. 

The Nationals frontman Aaron Dessner, who co-wrote much of the album, discussed their work together during lockdown in a recent interview with Pitchfork. Regarding their creative collaboration, the pair kept in close contact during their respective quarantines, as Dessner reveals “We were pretty much in touch daily for three or four months by text and phone calls. Some of it was about production and restructuring things but a lot of it was just excitement. We both felt that this was some of the best work we have done.”

View this post on Instagram

cardigan “cabin in candlelight” version is out now

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Jul 29, 2020 at 9:12pm PDT

When elaborating on how their friendship began, Dessner reveals he met Swift on the set of Saturday Night Live back in 2014. Dessner recalled that “She talked a lot with my brother and me. That’s when we realized how much of a fan she was, and how lovely and down to earth.”

On the 30th June, the Bad Blood hitmaker released cardigan (cabin in candlelight version), a delicate reworking of the folklore original. Sharing to Instagram, the post gathered a whopping 1.3 million likes, reaffirming folklore as an immediate worldwide success.  

folklore is out now.

Worse still, is the fact that this year, Glastonbury would have been celebrating its 50th anniversary. It’s a momentous milestone for a festival that has welcomed the likes of Kanye West, Primal Scream, Orbital, Oasis, and David Bowie over the years. Sadly, it seems, 2020’s edition isn’t one for the history books.

Due to headline the fiftieth anniversary, Glastonbury was Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar. Set to run from 24-28 June, the news came via Twitter today that the Worthy Farm gig would no longer go ahead.

Michael and Emily Eavis made a statement on Twitter, saying: “We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily.”

Read below via Twitter for the statement in its entirety.

We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily pic.twitter.com/ox8kcQ0HoB

— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) March 18, 2020

A more thorough statement via Twitter was released soon after. It began with: “We are so sorry to announce this, but Glastonbury 2020 will have to be cancelled, and this will be an enforced fallow year for the festival.

In what they describe as “times of such unprecedented uncertainty”, the organizers declared that the decision to cancel was their “only viable option.” 

However, on a somewhat brighter note, the statement does affirm that ticket holders can roll over their £50 deposit into next year’s concert, or have it refunded.

Further information for accommodation, coach packages, and local Sunday tickets are expected “in the coming days.”